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Overview

Mitt Romney - Family Ties - Lessons - Life Stories

"If you define yourself by how much money you make or whether you get promoted or whether you win an election, you’re bound to be disappointed.” - Mitt Romney, The Thread

Episode Overview

Mitt Romney discusses his childhood, the values instilled by his parents, and the influence of his father, George Romney, a governor and cabinet member. He highlights his experience in the private sector and his political career as Governor of Massachusetts, Presidential candidate, and Senator from Utah. Romney emphasizes the importance of family, faith, and personal values – not career success – for a meaningful life.

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Lesson Objectives

Social Studies

*Gain insights on serving in elected office as a Governor, Presidential candidate, and Senator

*Explore the role of public service as a civic value and virtue

*Connect one life story to the larger story of American democracy in practice

English Language Arts

*Inspire students to tell their own coming-of-age stories

*Examine perspective taking from the point of view of one politician

*Explore the idea of purposeful work and a meaningful life

*Use Mitt Romney’s episode as evidence to write a rhetorical argument, commentary, or synthesis essay

Social Emotional Learning

By offering engaging personal narratives, students can discuss and strengthen the five SEL competencies - self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Critical Media Literacy

Students will stengthen critical media strategies by analyzing information, claims, and sources presented to them through engaging personal narratives in order to be empowered to make more informed decisions.

Mitt Romney - Family Ties - Lessons - Life Stories

First Take

The "First Take" activity is a warm-up writing or conversation exercise created uniquely for The Thread to strengthen media literacy skills. Like an opening song in a musical, the first stanza of a poem, or even the first impression one person makes on another, the "First Take" asks students to reflect and share their initial thoughts and feelings about the episode’s opening and why the filmmaker and editor made these choicess.

Download Mitt Romney's lesson to access the complete "First Take" activity.

Mitt Romney - Family Ties - Lessons - Life Stories

The Thread Up Close

After watching the interview, students will debrief and discuss the life story and engage in a close read and analysis of his interview using the "Family Ties" episode and transcript.

In this lesson, students will explore the meaning and practice of bipartisanship.

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Mitt Romney - Family Ties - Lessons - Life Stories

"Family Ties"

In this lesson students will explore the title of this lesson and reflect on their own definitions of success.

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Resources

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